Just a few weeks ago, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, a host mentioned a player’s performance. That player saw a first pitch, which was right in the middle of the strike zone. The host indicated that it was a great pitch to swing and he didn’t understand why the batter didn’t swing.
After listening to the podcast show, I was just wondering which players had taken many pitchers right in the middle of the strike zone over the last several seasons. And the other thing is about the pitching side. In the majors, which pitchers had thrown many pitches in the middle of the strike zone but the batters didn’t swing? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the statcast website.
Firstly, let’s look at the hitters. From 2021 to 2024, Paul Goldschmidt saw 245 pitches in the middle of the strike zone and he didn’t swing. More than 50% of those pitches were fastballs such as four-seamers and sinkers (two-seamers).
In addition, Xander Bogaerts took 231 pitches in the middle of the strike zone from 2021 to 2024. More than 50% of those pitches were fastballs. At the same time, Jonathan India made his MLB debut in 2021. Over the last 4 seasons, he took 230 pitches in the middle of the strike zone from 2021 to 2024 and approximately 45% of those pitches were fastballs. Meanwhile, Ha-Seong Kim saw 223 pitches in the middle of the strike zone and didn’t swing from 2021 to 2024. More than 60% of those pitches were fastballs.
Steven Kwan made it into the big leagues in 2022. Over the last 3 seasons, he saw 219 pitches in the middle of the zone and didn’t swing. More than 60% of those pitches were fastballs.
Now, let’s look at things at a different angle. Looking at the stats on the pitching side, from 2021 to 2024, Chris Bassitt threw 246 pitches in the middle of the zone and opponents didn’t swing. More than 62% of those pitches were his sinker. In the meantime, Jose Berrios threw 240+ pitches in the middle of the zone and opponents took. More than 60% of those pitches were his fastballs.
Finally, Framber Valdez threw 220+ pitches in the middle of the strike zone and opponents took them from 2021 to 2024. More than 60% of those pitches were his key pitch arsenal, sinker. And Aaron Nola threw 220+ pitches in the middle of the zone and opponents didn’t swing during the same period. Most of those pitches were his knuckle curve.
When looking at the stats from 2021 to 2024, we might more or less know a little bit about the hitters’ approach. For example, Steven Kwan made his MLB debut in 2022. He actually saw many pitches in the middle of the strike zone and he didn’t swing. Furthermore, Steven Kwan and Ha-Seong Kim did take many fastballs. Among pitchers, Framber Valdez and Chris Bassitt each threw many sinkers from 2021 to 2024 and the hitters took them. Also, we can keep watching Aaron Nola, he can locate his knuckle curve in the middle of the strike zone and some batters didn’t even swing.
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